RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN IN THE PARK  Midtåsen, in the park – July 9 at 20.00
The Masters of Musicals – Rodgers & Hammerstein – will create a fantastic atmosphere at the opening performance of this year’s festival at Midtåsen! At the very finest of outdoor arenas you may enjoy the songs that you just love from The Sound of Music, The King and I, Carousel, Oklahoma – all performed by the festival’s singers and pianist. The music, and the view of the fiord and the universe, creates the most wonderful feeling – and we do hope it will be as nice and warm as in the South Pacific!

Mariann Fjeld Solberg, Mathilde S. Marjavara, and Tone Braaten, soprano – Christina Jønsi, mezzo soprano – Ole Morten Velde, tenor – Filip Håkestad, Magnus D. Kjeldal and Sakarias Tranvåg, baritone – Ivar Anton Waagaard, piano.

GO HUNTING!  Arnebergstuen – July 11 at 19.00
Mozart composed his Hunt quartet in B-flat major, KV 458 in 1784, and it has belonged to the standard repertoire for string quartets ever since. Jörg Widmann carries on the vitality of Mozart’s music in his String Quartet no. 3 from 2003. He develops the ideas further and end the piece by letting the musicians Ludvig Gudim and Sonoko M. Welde, violin, and Eivind Ringstad, viola, hunt down the cellist Amalie Stalheim. By Sveinung Bjelland’s arrival it all eases off, and together they perform Robert Schumann’s Piano Quintet in E-flat major opus 44.

A JOURNEY TO ARGENTINA – VIA PARIS!  Arnebergstuen – July 12 at 19.00
The pianist Sveinung Bjelland invites us on a musical journey that starts “at home” with compositions by Backer Grøndahl, Grieg and Tellefsen – stops for a while “En avril á Paris” and music by Trenet/Weissenberg, Chopin, Debussy and Ravel – before he ends the trip with some fiery Argentinian dances by Piazzolla and Ginastera.

THE TWO CLARINET QUINTETS!  Arnebergstuen – July 13 at 19.00
The Clarinet Quintets by Mozart and Brahms are works that changed the history of music and the position of the clarinet as an ensemble and solo instrument. Mozart composed his quintet in A major, KV 581 for basset clarinet in 1789, and Brahms his work in 1891. The Finnish solo clarinetist Björn Nyman plays the two compositions together with the string quartet from the Go Hunting! concert: Welde, Gudim, Ringstad and Stalheim, and he will perform the Mozart quintet on a basset clarinet.

FRENCH EVENING  Scandic Park Sandefjord, Bankettsalen – July 14 at 19.00  (Waiting list)
On the French National Day, we have the honour of inviting you to a French Evening. The Bankettsalen at Park Hotel is the venue where the singers and pianist present a wide range of French and French-inspired music from operas, operettas and musicals alongside a lovely 5-course meal prepared by the hotel’s chef!

SILENCE CONCERT – THE GOLDBERG VARIATIONS  Midtåsen Sculpture Pavilion – July 15. and 16. at 15.00
Ulf Nilsen is called “a phenomenon”! He is an outstanding organist, pianist and performer on the cembalo – he loves jazz improvisation – and he is blind. It will definitely be one of the highlights of this summer’s festival when he performs one of the cornerstones of European music history – J. S. Bach’s Goldberg variations in the original version for cembalo – in the wonderful acoustics of the Sculpture Pavilion.

NATIONAL ROMANTIC CONCERT  By the pond – July 16 at 19.00
The pond at Midtåsen is an ideal setting for a National Romantic Concert. Seven singers and two pianists will take you on A walk in the forest and Along the brook at the time as The Lilac blooms and The Evening is growing closer. It’s A Summer Evening – Over the High Mountains, and Solveig sings her song. A Swan is floating solemnly on the pond! It’s like A Vision – A Dream!

Mathilde S. Marjavara, and Tone Braaten, soprano – Christina Jønsi, mezzo soprano – Ole Morten Velde, tenor – Filip Håkestad, Jørgen Backer and Sakarias Tranvåg, baritone – Ivar Anton Waagaard and Torgeir Koppang, piano.

FROM SALZBURG WITH AMATIS TRIO  Arnebergstuen – July 18 at 19.00
From the city where Mozart himself was born, the Amatis Trio come for their first visit to Norway. They have won several international competitions and perform at the most prestigious festivals. Lea Hausmann, violin, Samuel Shepherd, cello and Mengjie Han, piano, is so-called ECHO-musicians, which means that they play regularly at many of the main concert halls on the continent – and at Midtåsen! In their first concert they’ll present Beethoven’s Gassenhauer Trio, Schostakovich’ Piano Trio in c minor opus 8, Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio no. 1 in d minor and Andrea Tarrodi’s Moorlands which is composed for the Amatis Trio.

OPERETTA EVENING  Arnebergstuen – July 19 at 19.00 (Waiting list)
Arnebergstuen at Midtåsen looks exactly like the great halls of Viennese castles – and is the perfect place for an Operetta Evening. Charming operetta melodies are performed in between a tempting 5-course meal that’s prepared by Unike Hoteller’s chef. Just drift away and enjoy! Wien, Wien, nur du allein…

AMATIS TRIO AND RINGSTAD  Arnebergstuen – July 20 at 19.00
Amatis Trio was appointed New Generation Artists by the BBC at the same time as Eivind Ringstad. They have made a number of recordings for the BBC and played together at the Edinburgh International Festival and the Aldeburgh Festival. At last they meet again at Midtåsen! They will certainly play Mozart – the Piano Quartet in g minor, KV 478 – Frank Bridge’s Fantasy in f-sharp minor and Robert Schumann’s Piano Quartet in E-flat major, opus 47.

HAUGTUSSA – SONG AND DANCE  By the pond – July 22 and 23 at  15.00
The mysterious landscape around the pond at Midtåsen is a perfect setting for Garborg and Grieg’s Haugtussa song cycle. Veslemøy is a young shepherdess in the mountains, and she enjoys picking blueberries (Blåbærli) and to play with the kids (Killingdans). She falls in love with Jon, but when he doesn’t come back, as he promised, it is a Hurtful Day. She goes to the brook… The young dancers Myrna Lømo and Ludvig Støvind join the singer Mari Askvik and the pianist Ivar A. Waagaard in a staging by Kristian Støvind.

CAFÉ MIDTÅSEN  July 11 – 15 – 21 at 12.00
The daily Café Concerts take place on the terrace in front of the villa at Midtåsen. The singers Mathilde S. Marjavara and Jørgen Backer have chosen a selection of songs that suit the place very nicely – and Bernhard Greter accompanies them on the piano. You will also meet one of the Young Musicians of the year! – Marie Agnethe Pihl who plays the trumpet. Nice luncheon courses are served by Unike Hoteller. This is the place to meet with new friends, and together we create the most wonderful festival atmosphere!

CAFÉ ITALIANO  July 12 – 20 – 22 at 12.00
Mariann Fjeld Solberg, soprano, and Magnus Dorholt Kjeldal, baritone, invite you to a journey around Italy together with the pianist Torgeir Koppang. The flautist Marie Lille Haugen – who is one of the Young Musicians of the year! – travels with them as well. Italy has plenty to choose from of lovely music, and also on the culinary side – which Unike Hoteller love to take care of. Together they make the very best of a festival feeling!

FARMERS AT THE CAFÉ  July 13 – 18 – 23 at 12.00
As we all know by now: a lot of very good singers come from Stokke – and from Jåberg as well! But it is also a lot of farmers there. Just now, two of them – Sakarias Tranvåg and Filip Håkestad – have decided to visit a nearby Café. To be on the safe side, they have asked the mezzo soprano Christina Jønsi to join them. This will be a rather tough task for the pianist Torgeir Koppang, but he is fortunately supported by Magnus Lille Haugen on the marimba. Magnus is also one of the Young Musicians of the year!

CAFÉ D’AMORE  July 14 – 16 – 19 at 12.00
Love is in the air when the tenor Ole Morten Velde invites the soprano Siri Kval Ødegård on a date. For a smooth tenor of Ole Morten’s calibre, this is of course “a piece of cake”! He knows that any woman’s heart would melt if he also played his guitar! But in the most romantic and intense love duets he will need some support from the pianist Bernhard Greter. Seductive music from the Young Musician of the year! – Kristine Emilie Krüger’s viola – also helps him a lot!